Editorial
Prison Insider's editorial
The members of Prison Insider periodically put forth their critical points of view -- different opinions from different people are the assets of the Prison Insider team.
United Kingdom: overcrowded jails are more violent, study finds
Overcrowding is a trigger for poor performances in prisons, says a research document produced by the Institute for Government. It calls for increased education and training for imprisoned people, and the introduction of a minimum standard of provision.United Kingdom: the prison with no bars on the windows where women prepare for freedom
The Lilias Centre, in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, is part of a multimillion-pound experiment to tackle reoffending through rehabilitation. They give incarcerated women greater freedoms than traditional prisons and prepare them for life in the community after their sentence.Malta: imprisoned person tests positive for tuberculosis, sending CCF on high alert
Corradino prison is on high alert for a potential outbreak of tuberculosis after an imprisoned person contracted the respiratory disease. Prison officials have since tested 82 people within prison– both imprisoned people and workers – for tuberculosis. All those tests resulted negative.
Indonesia: Prabowo’s prison island plan for corrupt officials raises eyebrows
President Prabowo Subianto’s pledge to construct a remote island prison for corrupt officials has been met with scepticism from experts, who argued that deeper structural reforms of the prison system were needed to address chronic overcrowding and underfunding.
Venezuela: U.S. citizens detail being hooded and beaten up at high-security prison
Foro Penal, a Caracas-based legal assistance group suggests that nearly 1,000 people remain behind bars for political reasons in the South American country. That number includes foreign or dual nationals from about 13 different countries.
United States: California turns down another chance to end forced prison labor
In November, Californians voted to keep using forced labor in the state’s prison system. Just more than 53% of voters voted against Proposition 6, while a little less than 47% supported the end of indentured servitude in the Golden State.United Kingdom: too many women sent to jail to due lack of services in community, prison inspectorate finds
A new HM Inspectorate of Prisons report on HMP Styal found that 39 women had been sent to the prison due to their “acute vulnerabilities and the absence of specialised support in the community.”United States: the harsh reality of being a prison journalist
Censorship, threats, and stints in solitary are among the acts of retaliation prison reporters face. Busby was sentenced to seventy-five years in 1999. Since then, he’s worked as a writer and journalist, including a stint as a staff reporter for the Texas prison newspaper The Echo.
Syria: Hanin Gebran, released from al-Assad’s jails, “The conditions in which journalists were held were horrible, and much worse for a woman”
Syrian journalist Hanin Gebran details the horrific conditions she endured in Assad’s prisons, shedding light on the gendered violence and torture faced by women journalists under the regime.Indonesia: inside Bali's execution island, how imprisoned people are shipped to 'Indonesia's Alcatraz'
Banished from the mainland, imprisoned people in Indonesia’s notorious Nusakambangan Island await news of their fate. The prison complex is home to a number of prisons of varying levels of security. The least volatile can expect to spend their days working in the fields and carving gems.Egypt: Egyptian-UK activist begins hunger strike in prison
Abdel Fattah began refusing food at the Wadi al-Natroun prison “on Saturday, March 1 after hearing news that his mother had been hospitalised” in London, where she has been on hunger strike to put pressure on the British government to secure his release.
South Africa: nutrition experts revamp meal plans for imprisoned people
The Department of Correctional Services has roped in nutrition experts to ensure that imprisoned people are fed a well-balanced meal.“These changes were carefully designed to align with dietary guidelines and ensure that the diverse dietary needs of the detained population are adequately met.”.Ireland: all secure prisons now at, or above, capacity with Mountjoy reaching 1,000 incarcerated people
Prison overcrowding is at another crisis point with all secure jails having reached, or exceeded, capacity for the first time. The number of incarcerated male in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, has this week grown to 1,000 for the first time.Ireland: overcrowded prisons and breaches of human rights
The deprivation of a person’s liberty alone is a core punitive sanction that has a long-lasting and often traumatic impact on an individual – the conditions and treatment experienced by individuals in prison should not be used as an additional punishment.United Kingdom: pregnant women in England and Wales could be spared jail under new guidelines
Pregnant women should not be sent to jail unless it is “unavoidable”, according to new sentencing guidelines. The guidance, published by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, has been hailed by campaigners as a huge milestone.United Kingdom: report critical of prison's 'limited' support for neurodiverse incarcerated people
An inspection of Jersey’s only prison has led to concerns being raised about a lack of support for neurodiverse incarcerated people. The report found that while 23 people had been identified as neurodivergent, few had care plans in place, and staff awareness of how to support them was “weak”.Iran: six executed for drug offenses in Mashhad prison
Six incarcerated people were executed on Saturday in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad for drug-related offenses. The executed people were Asieh Ghavi Cheshm, 45; Mehrdad Kolbeali, 26; Hassan Shahraki, 29; Jalal Afaq, 32; Masoud Yaghi Zayi, 33; and Aref Sediqpour.United Kingdom: pregnant women 'cuffed to male officers while in labour'
The Ministry of Justice is investigating claims by two incarcerated female that they were handcuffed to male officers during labour, antenatal appointments, and intimate vaginal examinations. The alleged incidents occurred between 2021 and 2023 at HMP Bronzefield in west London.Russia: documentary reveals the late Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna was brutally tortured while in captivity
The late Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna, who was captured by Russian forces in the summer of 2023, was subjected to severe torture while in detention, according to an investigative documentary by Slidstvo.Info titled “Vika’s Last Assignment.”Iran: execution of 88 incarcerated people in february, marking a 780% increase
At least 88 incarcerated people were executed across prisons last month, marking a 780 percent increase from February 2024, when 10 executions were recorded. The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights has confirmed the identities of 81 executed people, with seven cases still under investigation.United States: lethal injection, electrocution and now firing squads. A look at US execution methods
South Carolina is preparing to execute a man by firing squad, a capital punishment method that hasn’t been used in the U.S. in nearly 15 years. Since the Supreme Court lifted its ban on capital punishment in 1976, states have used five different execution methods.